The Presidential Office held a press conference on July 16 to announce seven laws and two resolutions which were adopted at the third session of the 13th National Assembly.
These seven laws include the Law on Pricing, the Law on Judicial Assessment, the Law on Legal Dissemination and Education, the Law on Advertising, the Law on Water Resources (amended), the Law on Viet Nam’s Sea, which will take effect from Jan. 1, 2013. The Law on Handling Administrative Violations will come into force from July 1 next year, except regulations relating to the application of measures on administrative handling decided by People’s Courts, which are scheduled to become effective from Jan. 1, 2014.
Defending the nation’s sovereignty over sea and islands (Illustrative image)
The two resolutions which comprise the implementation of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations and the other on the issuance of a number of tax policies to deal with difficulties facing organisations and individuals were also announced at the press conference.
According to Deputy Minister of Finance Truong Chi Trung, the Law on Pricing has 5 chapters, 48 articles. In comparison with the Ordinance on Pricing, the Law stipulates that State organs, organisations and individuals engaging in business activities shall have to publicise prices in a bid to increase transparency of the market, limit “black markets”, creating the society’s common attitude on price management and administration to benefit consumers.
The Law on Judicial Assessment with 8 chapters and 46 articles, stipulates the arrangement and operation of judicial assessment. The Law is also expanded compared to the regulations of the Ordinance.
Deputy Minister of Justice Pham Quy Ty said that the Law on Legal Dissemination and Education comprises 5 chapters and 41 articles regulating citizens’ rights to be provided with legal information and their responsibility to learn the law. It also stipulates State policies and management on legal dissemination and education and the methods of propagation, its common contents and forms for citizens.
At the press conference, the Deputy Justice Minister also introduced main features of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations which includes 6 sections, 12 chapters and 142 articles. In comparison with the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations, the Law has a change to limit administrative handling of children between the age of 12 and 14.
The Law on Advertising comprises 5 chapters and 43 articles. Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Khanh Hai said that the Law’s first chapter has 11 articles, focusing on regulations of principled issues. The chapter’s new point is specifically regulating products and services subject to advertising bans including tobacco, wine over 15 degree volume of alcohol, milk for children under 2 years old, feeding bottles, dummies, titillating toys, violent products, shotguns and bullets. Besides, the Law also stipulates that the Government can rely on the reality to set products and services banned by advertising.
In comparison with the current Law on Water Resources, the amended Law has 39 new articles and 40 articles are amended and supplemented. The Law includes 10 chapters and 79 articles supplementing the regulations on projects on exploitation of water. It also stipulates that it is necessary for projects on discharge of waste water into fresh water sources to collect opinions of affected inhabitants and relevant organisations and individuals to uphold responsibilities and information transparency on any adverse impacts which can be caused from the preparation of these projects. It also classifies and allocates management of and river basins and sources which will serve as foundation for decentralisation, as well as supplementing regulations on legal dissemination and education on water resources.
When briefing some contents of the Law on Viet Nam’s Sea, Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said that with 7 chapters and 55 articles, the Law stipulates the country’s internal water, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, islands, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa and other archipelagoes under Viet Nam’s sovereignty, sovereign right and jurisdiction. It also stipulates activities within Viet Nam’s sea, marine economic development, management and defence of sea and islands.
Management and defence of sea are implemented synchronously in accordance with Viet Nam’s law, the Charter of the United Nations and other international treaties that Viet Nam accedes to. All Vietnamese agencies, organisations and citizens have responsibility to defend the country’s sovereignty over sea and islands.
The State upholds the nation’s strength, implementing necessary measures to protect sea, islands sovereignty, encouraging marine economic development and protecting fishermen’s activities at seas.
According to Deputy Minister Son, the Law on Viet Nam’s Sea reflects the country’s consistent policy of solving maritime disputes with neighbouring countries through peaceful measures, in line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, international law and practice. The country further promotes international maritime cooperation with other countries, international and regional organisations in many specific fields of sea and ocean./.
NBC/VNA